Free Change of Heart by Jennifer L. Allen

making it much easier for me to carry her. “I hate you.”
    “No, you don’t.” I say, though I’m not really sure if that’s true after what I heard a few minutes ago. I set her down on her feet just outside my truck. “You know we’re going to talk about this, don’t you?”
    She rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”
    I open the passenger door and give her a boost up. She swats at me twice while I’m trying to help her buckle her seatbelt, and I want to laugh, but I know that won’t help things any. I shut her door, walk around the front of the truck, and get in.
    “I’m sorry you heard all that,” she tells me quietly. Her head is now lying back on the headrest and her eyes are closed. I bet she’ll be asleep before we even get out of the parking lot.
    “It’s how you feel. Don’t be sorry for how you feel.” Even if I can’t stand the thought of her feeling that way towards me. Especially when she doesn’t know the whole truth.
    “I was just so mad at you, Decker,” she breathes out.
    “I know, Casey. And we’ll talk about it. But not tonight.”
    “Not tonight,” she repeats.
    I start the truck and head home. Sure enough, she’s asleep before we pull out onto the main road. I can’t believe that all this time I’ve been mad at her, she’s been mad at me. If we’d just talked back then, really talked about shit instead of dancing around the real stuff, maybe the past three years wouldn’t have happened. At least not like they did. Maybe I’d still have my best friend and wouldn’t be terrified I was going to lose her.
    As I’m taking the turns through our neighborhood, admittedly a little faster than I normally would since there aren’t any cars on the road, Casey groans. “Imgonnabesick,” she garbles before leaning forward and puking all over her legs, the car seat, and the floorboards of my truck.
    Fantastic.
    The perfect end to the perfect night.
    Not.

Chapter Thirteen
     
    Casey
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The following morning, I wake up feeling like absolute shit. To make matters worse, my mother is sitting beside my bed when I finally open my eyes. I can’t decipher the look on her face through the haze surrounding my brain, and I don’t even want to. I know what I’ll see if I take the time to focus. Disappointment.
    “Take this,” she snaps, roughly handing me a couple white pills and a glass of water.
    I lift myself up on my elbows, wincing at the sunlight pouring in the room through the open blinds. I drop the pills on my tongue and swallow them down with the water. Glancing over at my nightstand I take note of the bottled vitamin drink, toast, and assortment of other pills. I set the water glass down and flop back into the mattress; the movement causes my stomach to turn, and I groan.
    “What the hell were you thinking?” my mother hisses at me, obviously through with the silence.
    My eyes pop open. She’s mad at me?
    “I am so disappointed in you, Casey.” Ah, there it is.
    “I’m sorry, mom. I won’t do it again,” I drone monotonously, pinching my eyes tightly shut again in an effort to block the sunshine.
    “Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?” Clearly, she’s not finished with her lecture. She’s never had to do this to me before, so I guess I should be a little more patient and understanding.
    “I’m fine,” I tell her, making eye contact this time. “See? I’m right here. I’m in one piece.”
    “Casey…I know the last few years have been rough and you never really acted like a kid even before that. But there is no reason to catch up on all that you missed in one night.”
    “Mom, I had a few glasses of wine. That’s it. I drink wine in California. I’m of age, it’s not that big a deal.”
    She shakes her head. “You have to be more careful than that. I already lost my husband…” her voice breaks. “I refuse to lose my daughter, too.”
    I sigh, taking her hand in mine and using my other hand to rub her back